MONTEREY PARK : Photographic Exhibit Shows Life in China

A collection of photographs depicting life in Communist China will be on display at the Bruggemeyer Memorial Library in Monterey Park.

Along with more than 50 mounted photographs, the Chinese consul general's office in Los Angeles has also given the library dozens of English-language books about Chinese culture.

The exhibit, which ends March 20, opens two weeks after another cultural exhibit sponsored by the Chinese government was rejected by the Monterey Park Library Board of Trustees.

That show, offered by the Chinese Embassy in Washington, was to showcase rare Tibetan books and documents. The board voted against hosting the exhibit, primarily because of China's ongoing military occupation of Tibet.

During a reception at the library Monday, Mayor Judy Chu, City Manager Chris Jeffers and other city and library officials joined Chinese Consul General Zhou Wenzhang in opening the photo exhibit.

"Many people who live here are from China and have deep roots in China," Wenzhang said. Monterey Park is the only city in the United States where a majority of the population--56%--is of Asian descent.

"For many people China is a faraway country. We have brought it to your doorstep," Wenzhang said.